


The Princess and the Cowgirl

by KoreFanFic



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Ashe drinks (of course), Ashe swears, Bisexual Widowmaker | Amélie Lacroix, Creeps - Freeform, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Lesbian Ashe, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ouihaw, Pre-Talon Widowmaker | Amélie Lacroix, Secret dating, Shootouts, Slow Build, Slow Romance, Smut, ashe kicks their ass though so its okay, criminals, drunk harrassment, drunk people, gun swining, whiskey drinking, will tag as I upload
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:41:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24825478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KoreFanFic/pseuds/KoreFanFic
Summary: **ON HIATUS. LIFE PROBLEMS. I WILL BE BACK I SWEAR.**When Ashe is helped by a stunning young woman she finds herself hung up on her. It doesn't help that she keeps bumping into her everywhere she goes.Amélie's knight in shining chaps is someone she can't stop thinking about, which is lucky when she keeps seeing her everywhere.Both woman have no idea what to make of the other, or the feelings that they are very quickly losing control over.
Relationships: Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe/Widowmaker | Amélie Lacroix
Comments: 15
Kudos: 34





	1. Chance Encounter

Elizabeth “Ashe” Caledonia flicked the butt of her cigarette into the street with an exasperated sigh. The man she was supposed to be meeting was late and she was losing what little patience she had. She didn’t like to be kept waiting. 

Red eyes scanned the nearly empty street as she searched for the face of the man she’d only ever seen through vidcall, but none of the faces matched up. 

Ashe turned to her Big Omnic Bodyguard, who was leaning against her sleek red motorcycle, his large arms crossed over his monstrous metal chest, his head bowed, his tiny bowler hat somehow clinging to his shiny head. 

“Oi, Bob? Ya think he chickened out?” Ashe asked him. “Bob” lifted his head, his brilliant green eyes glowing even in the daylight as he stared back at her silently. 

“Yeah me too. Well, I ain’t waiting much longer. If he don’t show up in the next fifteen minutes, we’re outta here,” Ashe told him with a nod, her long white hair ruffling out from under her large black cowboy hat in the wind. It needed cut, the length was starting to get annoying and she was regretting letting it grow out again. But that was what happened when you were distracted with work, no matter how illegal that work might be. 

The last few years had been busy for Ashe. She’d not only been juggling her own gang, Deadlock, but she’d been trying to keep the peace between the rest of the many gangs that littered Arizona, which was no easy task given how trigger happy they all were. But she’d managed it, barely, and now she had her sights set on branching out. 

Which was why she was in this good for nothing town. She didn’t like it, it was way too damn fancy for her liking, she preferred the dirty, dusty towns back home. There was a lot of snot-nosed snobs looking down their noses at her whenever she walked its cobbled streets. Not that she cared about other peoples opinions, she knew she was better than every damn fucker in this town even on her worst day, but it still irked her. Made her red lip curl whenever she caught one of them side-eyeing her. 

If she’d been back home, she’d had sooner shot someone for looking at her that way, but right now she was in someone else’s territory and she had to respect that if she wanted any hope of this meeting going well. For now at least. 

She was getting fidgety, tapping the tips of her black-painted nails off the metal armour on her right arm as she chewed on her tongue impatiently. She didn’t like this. Something about the silence in the street was making the hairs on the back on her neck stand on end. 

The sound of a car pulling up behind her made Ashe turn her head over her shoulder. She watched, quietly as the cars doors opened upwards and two men climbed out, both in finely tailored suits. A quick scan of their faces told her neither of them were the man she was waiting on and she would have turned away and gone back to her waiting if one of them hadn’t peered at her over his sunglasses, turned to his buddy and jerked his head in her direction. 

Great. Just what she needed.

Her hand twitched towards the sawn-off shotgun holstered to her hip as her eyes stayed on the two men as they slowly approached her and Bob. They stopped short, a few feet behind her and even through his thick black sunglasses Ashe could feel the first man’s eyes lock with hers.

“Excuse us, ma’am but we would like to have a word,” he said loudly. Ashe looked him up and down as she clicked her tongue off the roof of her mouth. 

“Aw yeah? And what word is that?” Ashe drawled, red irises finally reaching his stern face again. Both men were dark-haired, buzzed short. They could be related honestly. Maybe they were. But Ashe wasn’t about to ask. She didn’t really care. 

“We just want to ask what your business is here in our fine town,” The second chimed in, his low voice almost identical to the others. It gave Ashe the shivers. Did everyone in this fucking town sound the same? 

“I’m just ‘ere to meet a friend. Not here to cause any trouble,” She told them simply, her tone light. From the corner of her eye, Ashe spotted the second man shift his suit jacket slightly with his hand, the butt of a pistol peeking out from his pants. She wasn’t stupid. She knew what this was but she had to be careful. They could have back up anywhere, and Ashe didn’t know this place well enough to have it scoped out just yet. 

The first man cocked his head to one side and she could feel his eyes looking her up and down through his sunglasses. 

“Are you sure about that? You look like you are here to cause trouble, what with that large shotgun on your hip,” He pointed out flatly. 

“I have a permit for that,” She retorted quickly as she narrowed her eyes at him. 

“And the mech?” He asked, his head needing to tilt upwards to look at Bob behind her. 

“Omnic,” Ashe corrected him bitingly, her lips pursing in annoyance. 

“Omnic,” He nodded, his head falling back down to Ashe. “Do you have a permit for that also?”

“I have a permit for him too,” She threw the man a forced smile, her blatant lie coming out through her teeth. No one needed a “permit” for Omnics. 

“Is that so? Can we see it?” The man outstretched his hand towards her. 

“Well, I don’t have it on me. I left it in my other chaps,” She smirked, lifting one hand up flippantly and waving it near her face, keeping her other hand close to her hip, her fingers tingling with the need to grab her weapon. But she resisted. 

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to relieve you of your weapon and your ... Omnic... until I’ve seen a proper permit,” He told her, taking a step forward. Ashe didn’t like the way he had said “Omnic” like it was a bad word.

“You can sure try,” Ashe’s lip ticked upwards in a smirk and her hand snapped around her shotgun at the same time as Bob shifted to crouch at her feet, providing her cover as both the men ducked to take their own cover behind their car. 

Ashe blew two holes into the side of the car before she threw herself down behind Bob, quickly pulling two shells from her pocket and loading them back into her gun. 

“Well, Bob. Looks like our meetings been postponed,” She smirked as her heart hammered in her chest and adrenaline rushed in her ears. 

The sound of the two men returning fire, the bullets rattling off Bob’s back sent a ringing through her ears. 

Bob picked her up with one arm, taking his own gun from his metal hip and blinding firing over his shoulder as Ashe leaned over his arm and joined him, regretting leaving her rifle back at the hideout with the boys. She could have done with it now. 

Bob ran up the street, his body shielding Ashe from the gunfire from the two men who were now chasing them on foot. Ashe tried her best to return fire, but her sawn-off shotgun had limited range, making it almost useless to her. She growled as she ducked her head behind Bob’s arm while more bullets dented the big Omnic’s back.

“Bob! Gimme yer gun!” She barked at him. He obliged, quickly handing her his rifle. Much better, she thought as she aimed down the sights, firing over Bob’s arm.

The large metal man skidded to a halt before he bolted down an alley, picking up speed to put as much distance between them and the two men as he could. 

He swung them both around the other end of the alley, just as the two men reached the entrance, taking them into a back street that seemed to line a row of stores. Loud thuds echoed out around them as Ashe jostled uncomfortably in his arm. Bob sprinted down the back street, the sound of one of the men yelling following behind them. They were gaining on them. 

“Bob! We need to split up,” Ashe ordered him. The big bot nodded turning another corner. 

As he rounded into yet another alley, Ashe handed him back his rifle as he lowered his arm and she hit the ground running, bolting down the left as Bob took the right. 

“Meet back at the bike once you lose em or kill em,” Ashe hollered over her shoulder, not needing to see if he agreed. He always did.

The sound of her own heels clicked in her ears as she ran down the alley, her eyes scanning the dark walls for a doorway to hide in. 

She clocked the sight of a heavy fire exit sitting ajar down the alley, a small brick holding it open. Ashe grinned as she reached the door, slipping inside it easily and kicking the brick out of the way to pull it closed behind her.

Ashe didn’t waste any time, jogging down the dimly lit corridor, pulling open the first door she came across and throwing herself inside, slamming the door behind herself. 

She pressed her self against the door, her chest heaving under her waistcoat as she strained her ears to listen for any sign either of the men had followed her. As she focused her ears on the growing silence, she dug one hand into her pocket, the other wrapped firmly around her shotgun. 

Her fingers found her pocket empty and she cursed to herself, realising she was out of ammo. 

“Excuse me? Are you alright?” Came the sound of a heavily accented voice from inside the room. Ashe’s head snapped around and her eyes fell on a slender, pale-skinned girl standing in the middle of the large, mirrored room.

Ashe pressed her tongue against the roof of her mouth for a second, debating what lie to spin to the concerned looking girl watching her, big hazel eyes looking between Ashe’s face and the shotgun in her hands. For some reason, she settled for a half-truth.

“I’m, uh, hiding. From some bad people in suits,” Ashe told her briefly, still trying to catch her breath. She left out the part where she was also a bad person, just not in a suit.

“Oh? That doesn’t sound very good,” The girl said simply and Ashe had to hold back a snort. 

“No, I guess it doesn’t. Uh, I hate to be a bother but is there anywhere good to hide in this place? I would kinda like to see the sunrise tomorrow and I get the feeling the folks chasin’ me might take issue with that,” Ashe pleaded, trying to make herself sound as innocent as possible. 

The girl’s mouth popped open into a small “o” before she looked around the large, empty room. Her hazel eyes widened at something to Ashe’s left and she nodded furiously, tiny strands of her dark hair flying out of her bun. 

“Over here,” She muttered, reaching out to grab Ashe’s forearm and dragging her forward, Ashe’s boots echoing around the room. She let the girl pull open a large cupboard door and bundle her inside just as the sound of someone kicking in the fire exit shook the floorboards beneath them. 

The hazel-eyed girl grabbed the cupboard door and went to push it closed, she stopped just before she closed it and her eyes met Ashe’s. 

“Stay here. Don’t make a sound,” She whispered just as she pushed the door closed with a click leaving Ashe in almost complete darkness, save from a small strip of light coming through the keyhole. She immediately crouched down to press her eye against it, a faint breeze making her eye water slightly.

She watched as the girl crossed the room, an impossibly perfect ass sashaying side to side as she went, to one of the mirrored walls and wrapped a hand around a thin bar that ran horizontally across the wall. She lifted herself onto her toes, and Ashe just then noticed she was wearing a pair of cream coloured ballet shoes. 

Ashe wasn’t uncultured, she knew what ballet was, her mother had even tried to make her take classes when she was younger, but Ashe had been too “uncoordinated” and “inflexible” for it. Or that was what the teacher had said but it was far more likely because Ashe had told her to “fuck off” when she’d tried to force her into those damned shoes. 

The door to the room burst open, making Ashe focus again just as the girl lowered herself back down to her heels, cocking her head to the side at the man who burst into the room, his gun drawn. He lifted it at the sight of the girl but lowered it when he registered she wasn’t who he was looking for but Ashe couldn’t help but noticed he didn’t take his finger away from the trigger. 

“I’m very sorry, Miss. Have you seen an unsightly looking woman run through here?” He asked her breathlessly.

Ashe’s lip curled at his insult, her fingers curling around her empty shotgun. She could always just bludgeon him to death with it. One of them she could handle. She was close enough that she could maybe get to him before he could shoot her. Maybe.

Her issue was if the other one was nearby. If he came in behind her, she’d have very little chance of surviving a bullet to the back of the head. So would the girl, who was right now very convincingly looking confused at the man’s query.

“ _Je suis désolé, je ne parle pas anglais_ ,” The girl said and Ashe’s thin eyebrows snapped together. 

What?

The man looked as equally perplexed as Ashe felt, his mouth falling open as he looked her slender frame up and down.

“I... Uhm... Do you speak English?” He asked slowly, lowering his gun even lower. 

“ _Non_ ,” The girl shook her head firmly, widening her eyes and biting her bottom lip timidly, clasping her hands in front of her. 

The man sighed heavily before he holstered his gun into his pants. 

“Have. You. Seen. A. Woman?” He half yelled at her, emphasising every word. 

Yes, that will work, Ashe rolled her eyes at him from inside the cupboard. 

The girl’s lip curled up at him in confusion and she shook her head again slowly, lifting her hands as she shrugged at him.

  
“ _Je ne sais pas ce que vous dites_ ,” She said, her voice sounding pleasing to Ashe’s ears, even if she didn't have the faintest idea of what she was saying. Her eyes focused on the man in front of her. Ashe had to hand it to her, she was convincing. Even Ashe would have believed her and she was the best at sniffing out bullshit. 

The man sighed again, hanging his head in defeat. 

“Never mind. Thank you,” He muttered, turning on his heel and heading for the door behind him. He reached up and pressed a finger to his ear. “Hey, Barnes? Yeah, She’s not here. Nah only one here is some stupid fucking foreigner. Bitch doesn’t speak a word of English.”

Ashe bit back the growl that was rising in her throat at his words. Fucking dickhead. 

“ _Connard,_ ” the girl waved at him, a sweet smile plastered across her face as he closed the door behind him, he smiled back over his shoulder as he pulled it closed with a loud click. The girls smile switched to a scowl the second the door closed and she turned her hand to flip him off from behind the door, making Ashe snort silently from the cupboard.

The criminal watched as the girl dropped her hand to her hip and sighed. She didn’t move for a few moments until the sound of the fire exit being slammed shut sounded down the hallway. Once the sound had faded away she turned and briskly pranced across the room, her long legs making quick work of the trip. Ashe had to force her eye away from the keyhole as she neared, part of her wanting to look at those legs a little bit longer. 

Not the time cowboy, she chastised herself. 

She brought herself to her full height just as the girl pulled the door open and Ashe winched as the light from the room poured in and assaulted her eyes. 

“Ah! Shit,” She grumbled, lifting her hand to shield herself.

“Are you alright?” The girl asked, her eyes looking Ashe up and down curiously. 

“Thanks ta you I am. I owe ya one darlin’,” She nodded, smirking when the girl’s hazel-eyes darted to the floor and her cheeks flamed pink. 

Ashe stepped out of the cupboard, forcing the girl to step back. She was equal heights with Ashe, even with Ashe’s heels and she could tell that if they were both on equal ground that the girl would be taller by a good couple inches.

“I-It’s alright,” the girl muttered quietly, her hands playing with the edge of the thin, tulle skirt around her thin waist. 

“You played ‘im pretty good. You make a habit of deceiving the law?” Ashe quizzed her, digging around her pocket for her packet of cigarettes. 

“He wasn’t a part of the police,” The girl looked up at her, tilting her head to the side curiously.

“He wasn’t? Looked like a Fed to me,” Ashe slipped the cigarette between her teeth, searching for her lighter. 

“No. The police here wear ghastly green uniforms, not suits. He’s not from here,” She told Ashe earnestly.

“That makes three of us then. Where ya from anyway? Accent like that don’t come from anywhere I’ve ever been,” Ashe pointed out as she lifted her lifter to her cigarette. 

“France,” The girl replied shortly, her accent heavy on the single word. 

“Fancy,” Ashe nodded as she took a long drag from her cigarette, slipping her lighter back into her pocket. “So what are you doing in this shit hole of a town?” 

“I’m here for the dance school. The teacher is one of the best in the world. He came here to organise a huge ballet show for some important businessman’s birthday. I’m in it,” the girl reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. 

“Sounds exciting,” Ashe’s lip ticked up at her as she exhaled. The girl was pretty, no denying that, but there was something else about her that was making Ashe’s blood rush in her ears and she couldn’t figure it out.

“You don’t mean that,” The girl raised a dark eyebrow at her, folding her arms across her chest.

“Ya got me. That sounds boring as muck,” Ashe admitted with a chuckle. “But I’m sure you are excited about it,” She added. 

“ _Oui_ , I am,” She nodded.

“What?” Ashe bared her teeth in a confused grimace.

“ _Oui_. It means “yes”,” She informed Ashe gently. 

“Right. Course it does,” Ashe nodded, taking another drag from her cigarette. “Anyway, I gotta get going. You wouldn’t mind pointing me back towards the main street? I got a bit turned about out there, while I was, ya know, running for my life,” Ashe jerked her head towards the door of the room and the girl nodded back. 

“Yes of course. Do you want me to walk you back? Help watch out for that man coming back?” She offered sweetly.

“If it ain't too much trouble,” Ashe nodded, holstering her shotgun to her hip and following the girl to the door. 

“Oh! Wait!” The girl squeaked as they reached the door and bolted back across the room and planted herself on the floor, her back turned to Ashe. 

“Uh, What are ya doin’?” Ashe quizzed her, trying to peer over the girl's shoulder. 

“I’m changing my shoes. I can’t wear these outside, they’ll get ruined,” She said as if Ashe should already know this. Ashe shrugged and quietly smoked her cigarette while she waited patiently. When she was done, she sprang to her feet and grabbed a backpack from the floor and danced across the floor to Ashe and stopped with a little hop that had Ashe raising an amused eyebrow at her. 

“Ya ready?” Ashe asked her with a smile. 

“Yep. Sorry to keep you waiting,” She apologised as she reached across Ashe and pulled the door open, poking her head out and looking up and down the hall. Once she had checked it was clear she looked over her shoulder at Ashe and waved a delicate hand for her to follow her. 

Ashe done as she was told, trusting the girl's judgement blindly, something she probably shouldn’t have been doing but she done it nonetheless. She always had a weakness for a pretty girl. 

The two of them walked quietly down the corridor, away from the fire exit and instead out the front door of the small dance studio. The girl led Ashe out into the street, her head snapping back and forth as she scanned the empty street for signs of the man from before. Ashe looked with her, keeping her wits about her as much as she could, but part of her was getting constantly distracted by the girl in front of her.

If it wasn’t her long legs that seemed to go on for forever it was where they actually stopped, connected to the single most impressive ass Ashe had ever seen. And that was saying something.

They made their way down the street, the girl taking the lead, something Ashe was not used to but she let it happen anyway, telling herself it was so the girl could give her a heads up if she saw the “Not Fed” before she did but that was horse shit and she knew it. It was mainly so she could keep checking out her perfect rear. 

They rounded a few corners before they came out onto the street Ashe had parked her bike, the black car the men had shown up in gone. They’d clearly thought the bike wasn’t hers, as they’d left it completely untouched, not that she wasn’t going to have Bob check it for trackers before she went anywhere.

“There ya are!” Ashe called out as she spotted the sight of her bodyguard coming out from in between two buildings. 

“Is he a friend of yours?” The girl asked quietly and Ashe nodded when she turned to look at her. 

“Yep, that’s Bob! Bob this is... eh, I never actually got yer name,” Ashe stopped short as Bob came thundering up to them. 

“You never gave me yours,” The girl smirked and the playfulness in her tone made something hot roll through Ashe’s gut. Something about the way she looked at Ashe from under those long lashes had her almost speechless. 

“Uh... I asked you first, Princess,” Ashe drawled, trying her best not to let it show the girl was having an effect on her. 

“Princess?” The girl snorted. Fuck even that was attractive. 

“Yeah. Princess. And I’ll keep calling ya that till you tell me yer name,” Ashe smirked back at her, taking a step around her to lean an arm over her bike. 

“Then maybe I won't tell you it,” She folded her arms across her chest and pouted back. Ashe’s eyes couldn’t help themselves as they darted down to her lips. 

“I’ll show you mine if you show me yours,” She teased, wiggling her eyebrows at her wickedly. The girls face flushed a deep shade of red, her hazel eyes going wide a fraction but she didn’t break eye contact. 

“I don’t think I will,” She said firmly, lifting her chin up at her. 

“And after all that trouble you went to ta help me? Gee that’s a shame,” Ashe let out a long sigh through her nose before she straightened herself up again. “Well, Princess. I’ll be seeing ya,” She added, turning her back on her, catching the sight of her lips parting slightly at the nickname being used again. 

“Yes. I’ll be seeing you, Cowgirl,” She retorted and Ashe’s head snapped over her shoulder to glare at her, although nowhere near as harshly as she normally wound. She gave the girl a quick once over, her crimson eyes meeting the pretty golden ones and holding them for a moment longer than was polite. 

“Cowgirl?” Ashe challenged her, turning to face her again as Bob stepped around Ashe, checking the bike without even having to be asked. He’d clearly had the same thought as his boss.

“Yes. That is what you are, isn’t it?” The girl smirked back hotly and Ashe was almost lost in the look. 

“Well technically yes, but I’m no girl. I’m a woman, Princess,” Ashe crossed her own arms across her chest and looked her up and down again. 

“And I’m not a Princess, Cowgirl,” She countered, raising a thin black eyebrow at Ashe. 

“Then tell me yer name and I’ll stop callin’ ya Princess, Princess,” Ashe took a long stride forward, crossing the distance between them. 

“Why do I feel like that’s a lie?” She asked quietly and Ashe caught her eyes flitting down to her lips. She darted her tongue out to swipe at her lipstick, ending on a satisfied grin when she saw the girls chest hitch.

“Tell me your name and find out,” Ashe dared her, fighting the urge to lean forward. 

They locked eyes and for a moment Ashe genuinely thought the girl was going to kiss her, the way her lips parted gently, how her tongue slipped out to wet them, the way her eyes seemed to burn as she narrowed them slightly at her. 

But then the girl leaned back, cleared her throat and the moment was gone. 

Ashe ran her tongue across her teeth, gave the girl one last look before she sighed heavily.

“Fine, suit yourself. We gotta get goin’ anyway. Have a nice day,” She turned on her heel and waved over her shoulder. “Princess,” she added playfully and caught the girl scowling back. 

“ _Connasse_ ” the girl purred back, giving Ashe the same, smug smile she had given the man in the suit. 

Ashe’s eyes narrowed on her. She considered asking her what that meant but doubted she’d tell her the truth. But she had an inclining it wasn’t French for “Cowgirl”. 

Without another word, she turned her attention to Bob, who nodded at her silently, giving the bike the all-clear. She nodded back as he swung his large body over the back of the bike, the poor thing creaking under his weight. 

She gave the smirking girl one last look before she swung herself over the bike in front of Bob. Ashe revved the engine loudly, smirking when the girl winched and lifted her hands to her ears, her face screwing up at the sound. 

“Thank you for the assistance, Princess,” Ashe reached up and tilted her hat at the pretty girl before she shot forward, leaving her standing in on the side of the street. 


	2. Charming Criminal.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amélie is saved my a familiar face.

Amélie tightened her grip on the strap of her backpack as she pushed the door of the dance studio open and let the cold night air wash over her. She took in a deep breath before she looked around the dimly lit street. She had accidentally stayed later than planned but she had been determined to land that leap, which she was now paying for as her legs screamed at her with every movement. Amélie couldn’t wait to get back to her apartment and sink into a nice hot bath with some red wine. She felt like she’d earned it.

As she headed down the street, her mind wandered, back to the mysterious white-haired woman she’d met a few days ago. It had done that a lot recently, whenever she got a minute’s silence really. Not that she was complaining. The image of the white-haired, red-lipped woman was hardly an unpleasant one. 

But Amélie had more pressing things she should have been focusing on. Like the show that was coming up in a few weeks. It felt like every time she checked, the date had jumped forward a lot further than it had any right doing. 

Amélie rounded a corner, taking the short cut home she took every day, as she silently worried if she was going to be ready in time. She was the lead and the entire thing was riding on her shoulders, something she was painfully aware of. Literally. Her entire body ached from top to bottom and she was struggling to make her legs obey her and carry her the short walk home. 

Not long now, she told herself as she passed the now empty stores, their windows all in darkness. The only buildings still open was the small handful of bars that lined the street, faint music and chatter coming from them, filling the night air. Amélie paid them no mind as she walked down the side-walk, her thoughts focused on going over the moves she felt she still needed to perfect. 

She was in the middle of planning out her routine for the next day when the door to one of the bars on her left burst open, making her jump. Two men stumbled out of the door, their arms wrapped around each other, singing loudly together.

Amélie, took in a breath to steady her heart rate after being startled and headed on her way, not looking up at the two men as she passed them. 

“Oi! Pretty lady? Oi! You!” One of them called out behind her. Amélie stopped, against her better judgement, and turned to look over her shoulder at them both. She couldn’t ignore them, as much as she wanted to, that would be rude. 

“Yes?” She called out over her shoulder as one of them took a step forward, while the other one turned away from them both and leaned his hand against the wall of the bar. Amélie tried to bit back her grimace when she heard the sound of him unzipping his fly, focusing on the one staggering her way instead. She ignored the sound of the second one urinating against the wall. 

“You old enough to drink?” The man asked, his hazy eyes leering over her, making her skin crawl. 

“Uhm... Yes,” She replied sheepishly. 

“Come drink with us! There’s a few bars we ain’t been in yet,” The man offered, the strong stench of vodka reaching Amélie’s nose and making her screw up her face in disgust. 

“Oh. That’s very kind, but I have to be getting home. Thank you though,” She told him politely. She turned her head back and took a step forward. Just as she hoped that would be the end of it, she felt a hand wrap around her elbow and haul her backwards. 

“Come on pretty lady, just one drink, I promise I don’t bite,” the man crooned at her and Amélie felt her stomach go hollow. She tried to pull her arm away, but the mixture of her exhaustion from dancing all day and the surprising strength of the man holding her caused her arm to barely move an inch.

“I’m sorry, but I really need to get home. Please let me go,” She asked weakly, trying to pull away again, feeling his hand tighten on her arm. The man leaned forward, bringing his lips right next to her ear, his hot, vodka-soaked breath making Amélie recoil from him before he’d even spoke. 

“I ain’t asking here sweetheart,” He snarled in her ear. Amélie felt a hot wave of bile rise from her chest and into her throat, making her feel nauseous as his fingernails dug into her skin. She kept her eyes focused on the ground as she tried to lift her shoulder and pull away once more. She could hear the soft sound of someone walking across the side-walk behind the man and she assumed the second man was now coming to join them. 

Amélie felt her knees start to shake as she fought back the urge to vomit. She wanted to scream but the overwhelming feeling of fear had her throat so dry she worried it would be in vain. Her mind was racing, trying to think of how to get out this man’s grip. 

She looked up just in time to see a single, black nailed finger tap the man on the shoulder. He turned to look over his shoulder, just as a pale elbow shot around the side of his face, colliding with his nose and sending him hurtling backwards and he released Amélie’s arm as he reached up to cradle his face. 

“Sonofabitch!” He mumbled into his hands as Amélie watched, frozen to the spot, her eyes fixed on the stumbling drunk as thin streams of blood started to leak through his fingers. 

“Hey! What the fuck lady?” A slurred voice called from down the street and Amélie’s eyes shot up to see the second man stuffing his shirt into his jeans and stumbling forward and that was when she noticed the person who the elbow belonged to. 

Long white hair fell over her shoulder as she reached down and pulled her shotgun from her holster and pointed it at the man stumbling towards them, her red lipstick snarl sending a shiver down Amélie’s spine. 

“Don’t even think about it buddy,” She growled fiercely as she held the gun out behind her, her body still facing Amélie. 

The man balked, skidding to a stop as he went cross-eyed while he tried to look down the barrels of the shotgun. He mumbled something that Amélie couldn’t hear before he lifted his hands in the air in surrender and took a few steps backwards. 

His bleeding partner’s eyes went wide over his hands as he looked the woman up and down before he scrambled around her to join his friend. Amélie watched in silence as both men bolted down the street. 

Cowgirl didn’t turn to face her until both of them had vanished around a corner at the other end of the street, finally lowering her gun to her side as her crimson eyes turned on Amélie. 

“Are you alright there?” The woman asked, her thick southern accent heavy on her words as she looked Amélie over. Amélie didn’t feel her skin crawl as her eyes scanned her up and down, instead, her heart felt warm in her chest at the look of concern on her pale face, her dark eyebrows pulled down in a frown.

“Oui,” Amélie nodded shakily. Cowgirl didn’t look convinced, her eyes travelling over her once more and stopping on her arm. Amélie followed her gaze and saw that her pale arm was covered in dark red marks from the drunk man’s fingers, thin dents in her skin from his nails. 

“Don’t lie to me, Princess. Let me ‘ave a look,” Cowgirl scowled at her and before Amélie could protest she had lifted her arm up to get a better look at it. Her fingers were rough but gentle, calloused by still soft at the same time. Amélie watched, her heart hammering in her throat as the woman’s eyes assessed her arm, her painted lips screwing up to the side.

“He didn’t break the skin so you won’t need a tetanus shot, so that’s good, but you might want to get ice on that so it don’t bruise,” She nodded firmly, letting go of Amélie’s arm.

“Why on earth would I need a tetanus shot!?” Amélie gasped, reaching to cradle her elbow against her chest.

“Cause that fucker looked dirtier than the sole of my boot,” She retorted with a soft chuckle. “What’s a pretty Princess doin’ walking home in the dark anyway? Wheel on your carriage broken?” Cowgirl smirked at her, folding her arms across her chest. Amélie frowned back, pursing her lips as she folded her own arms and narrowed her eyes at her.

“If you must know, I always walk home. I just ran later than normal, that’s all,” Amélie told her firmly. 

“You should make sure to get yourself home at a decent hour. So ya don’t bump into any more immoral folks,” Cowgirl’s red eyes stayed locked with Amélie’s as she spoke, causing something in Amélie’s stomach to ruffle like a paper bag in a high wind. 

“Do you mean those men or yourself?” Amélie scoffed, raising an eyebrow at her rescuer. 

“Colour me offended!” Cowgirl gasped dramatically, bringing her hand over her waistcoat. “I’ll have you know I’m a stand-up citizen.”

“So the gang tattoo is just for fun then?” Amélie nodding towards the large tattoo covering her forearm. 

Red eyes darted down to look at her own arm before they flitted back up to Amélie’s face. She raised a knowing eyebrow at her and her expression changed from mock outrage to smug amusement. 

“And how does a little Princess such as yourself know what this means?” She leaned forward, lifting her arm to show off the entire tattoo, just inches from Amélie’s face.

“I’m not stupid. I watch the holovids like everyone else. You’re a wanted criminal,” Amélie pointed out, also leaning forward to point a finger at Cowgirls chest. 

“Oh I am, am I? Well, that sure would explain a lot,” She grinned back, dropping her arm to her side as she looked Amélie over again.

Amélie couldn’t help herself and let out a small chuckle at the woman standing in front of her, shaking her head lightly at her. 

“I’ll bet it does. Anyway,” She straightened herself and glanced over her shoulder to look down the street. “I should get home. It’s getting late,” She added turning her head to look back at the white-haired woman. 

“That it is. You need me to walk you home? Scare off any more creeps for ya?” She suggested politely.

“I should be alright, thank you,” Amélie nodded back. “I only live in the next street,” she said as she pointed over her shoulder.

“Alright then. I better get going myself. Don’t wanna lose out on any more valuable drinkin’ time,” She grinned at her. 

“Thank you. For helping me,” Amélie muttered quietly as she reached up to grab her backpack over her shoulder. 

“Makes us even now. But don’t go bragging to folks I saved yer ass. I got a reputation to uphold. Don’t want people thinkin’ I’ve gone all soft over a pretty girl,” Cowgirl winked at her and the simple gesture sent a rumble through Amélie’s body and she could feel her ears grow hot. 

Amélie swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and nodded in silence before she turned to leave. 

“G’Night Princess,” The woman called out from behind her and Amélie stopped to look over her shoulder. She watched as the woman tilted her hat at her like she had done the other day. It was endearing and Amélie found herself smiling wider than she probably should have been.

“Goodnight Cowgirl,” She called back, giving the woman a short wave over her shoulder, biting back a laugh when the woman’s lips screwed up at the name. 

“Still not gonna give me yer name?” Cowgirl yelled after her. 

“ _Non_ ,” Amélie replied over her shoulder as she started down the street again. 

“That means no, right?” Came the thick southern accent and Amélie was glad she was facing the other way to hide her grin. 

“ _Oui_ , it does. You’re learning,” She added, hearing an amused snort from behind her. 

Amélie quickened her pace as she headed down the street, fighting the urge to look back again. A fight that she lost after a few feet. As she turned her head she caught the briefest glimpse of long white hair disappearing into a bar. 

Amélie tried to keep her thoughts focused on getting home as she practically skipped the rest of the way home. But that didn’t stop her daydreaming about red eyes and matching red lips as she made it to her apartment. 

***

Ashe sipped her whiskey, her other hand resting over the black cowboy hat that lay on the bar next to her as Zekke slapped a hand on her shoulder, while his brother, P.T, slid onto the bar stool on her other side. 

“Hey boss,” Zekke grinned at her and she nodded back in response. “Big Bob’s back at the shack, Bar’s is helping him install those gun arms. They look fuckin’ huge!” 

“Good,” Ashe muttered into her glass. She was barely listening to him, going over in her head their new plan. The man she had arranged a meeting with had eventually contacted her to explain he’d been cut off by some mysterious folks in suits and they needed to rearrange. If this had been any other business deal she would of cut her loses and bailed out, but she really wanted this one to work. 

It’d be great for the gang as a whole if they could make this work, having a connection in another state was damn hard to come by, and even harder to nail down. So she was set on making this work. 

The plan so far was to lie low while her contact tried to figure out who the men in suits were and what they wanted. The whole thing was starting to stink but Ashe had dealt with worse, so she wasn’t letting this scare her off. 

Zekke rambled on next to her, leaning his elbows on the bar as Ashe swirled her whiskey around her mouth as she tried to relax but the moment she did, soft hazel eyes would flash across her mind and she tensed on instinct. 

The girl from earlier. The one who had helped her out a few days ago and now Ashe had returned the favour by getting those fucking sleazy bastards away from her. Ashe shivered at the thought of what would have happened if she hadn’t rounded that corner when she did. She swallowed her whiskey hard, letting it burn down her throat as she forced the horrid thought down with the amber liquid. 

No use dwelling on it. The girl was fine now. And that was the end of that. She’d probably never see her again. Hell even seeing her tonight was a fluke. A mere coincidence. One that wouldn’t happen again. She’d hear back from her contact in a day or two, hopefully, and once they had sorted out the finer details of their deal, her and her boys would be on their way back to Arizona. Back to normal. 

“Boss? Ya ‘ear me?” Zekke swatted Ashe on the shoulder and she snapped her head round to glare at him. 

“What?” She barked harshly, rolling her eyes at the intrusion on her thinking.

“Ya wantin’ dibs?” He asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

“On what?” Ashe scowled, confused. 

“The pretty blonde over there,” Zekke nodded his head behind her and Ashe glanced over her shoulder to see the girl Zekke was referring to. She was pretty, he was right about that and very blonde. Too blonde. And too short. Ashe turned her lip up and shook her head at her fellow gang member. 

“Pass. Go nuts,” Ashe muttered, taking another drink from her glass. 

Zekke sauntered off to try and hit on the girl in question as Ashe leaned back over the bar and nursed her drink. Normally she probably would have jumped at the chance to try her luck, which was normally in her favour, but something that night was stopping her. 

She was never one to say no to blondes, but for some reason, she felt like she was starting to lean more towards dark-haired women. One in particular. 

Ashe growled to herself, shaking the image of the girl from her head and sitting up to pull her cigarettes out of her pocket. She slipped one into her mouth, pulling her lighter out and flicking it open. 

After she lit it and took a few drags from it, she turned on her stool, leaning back on her elbows as she surveyed the room before her. 

Her eyes clocked a poker table in the far corner, full of men all frowning at each other over the top of their cards. She clicked her tongue off the roof of her mouth as she could see at least three of them giving off horrifically obvious tells even from across the room. 

She took another drag from her cigarette, exhaling it before she drained the last of her drink. She leaned back on the bar and lifted her hand to order another one. Once the barman had served her she picked up her glass and pushed herself to her feet and made her way across the room to the poker table.

Time to make some money from these idiots. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Hope you all enjoy this chapter! 
> 
> Got a few life things happening ATM so not sure how often I'll be able to upload for the next little while! This includes my other fics (Dethroned and Sea Note!) So sorry to disturb the upload times after JUST starting a routine but life happens! I'll get back to uploading as planned (or possibly with a new, improved plan!) once things are back to normal on my end!
> 
> Until then feel free to come say hi on Tumblr or Twitter! My ask box on Tumblr is open! I've also been trying my hand at drawing some art and thats on both sites! 
> 
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